Fewer than 340 of these whales exist today, including only 80 breeding females. The population is estimated to have declined by 28% in the last decade. Seafood Watch, a sustainability guide for consumers and businesses published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, downgraded Atlantic lobster caught in pots and gillnets in whale territory to “avoid,” its lowest rating. The new assessment reflects a lack of “timely, effective management” to mitigate “significant risks” of entanglement and promote the recovery of the species. The US lobster fishery is worth around $500m (£430m) a year. Entanglement in fishing gear used to catch lobster, crab and other species is one of the two main threats to right whales (ship strikes being the other). The whales’ migration route – from their calving grounds in Florida to feed in Canada – is littered with more than 1 meter vertical lines of pots and traps, with 622,000 of them in US waters. When a whale becomes entangled in fishing gear, the ropes can become embedded in its skin, weighing it down and leaving it unable to swim or feed properly. Over 80% of right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once. A lobster was caught off Spruce Head, Maine, which is on the North Atlantic right whale migration route. Photo: Robert F Bukaty/AP In June, a court ruled that a US federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), violated both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act by failing to quickly reduce the impacts of fisheries of lobster tools in the North Atlantic right whale. Other fisheries added to the “red list” include all Jonah crab fisheries, and other fisheries with traps, pots and gill nets. Gills are a wall of netting that hangs vertically in the water, while traps and pots also have vertical lines from the surface. Oceana, a conservation lobby group, has urged the US and Canadian governments to implement stronger measures to protect North Atlantic right whales. “It is unfortunate that the government’s failure to update safeguards to protect North Atlantic right whales is having such serious consequences for them [lobster] fisheries,” said Gib Brogan, Oceana’s campaign director. Brogan said that for the whale population to recover, the average number killed or injured by human activities must be less than one per year. “Every vertical line and gill net poses a threat to the remaining whales, who face the risk of entanglement every day,” he said. Strong fisheries regulations are needed to prevent interactions and minimize the impacts of interactions, he said. To give the species a fighting chance, the National Marine Fisheries Service (also known as NOAA Fisheries) should reduce the number of vertical lines and gillnets in the water and move to whale-safe fishing gear, such as gear without rope, Brogan said. An entangled North Atlantic right whale drags over 100 meters of heavy fishing line off the coast of Florida. Photo: AP “Ordering lobster or crab should not mean jeopardizing the future of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales,” he said. Last year, the Marine Stewardship Council was criticized by conservationists for certifying as “sustainable” a fishery within the right whale migration route. A NOAA spokesperson said: “The US wild-caught lobster fishery is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested in accordance with state and federal regulations. In addition, NOAA Fisheries is taking a comprehensive ‘Road to Recovery’ approach to protect, conserve and restore the endangered North Atlantic right whale.” In September 2021, NOAA Fisheries issued a regulation to reduce entanglement in the Northeast lobster and Jonah crab fisheries, effective May 2022. In July, it announced proposed changes to further protect right whales, including changes to the speed of the vessel and guidance on the use of fishing gear without a rope. In a statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the Canadian government “continues to take strong action to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales and help their populations rebuild.” Measures include closing fishing grounds when whales were present, working with harvesters using whale-safe equipment such as lower break strength rope. “So far this season, for the third year in a row, there have been no reported deaths of North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters,” it said.
